GM Rob Hennigan fired by Orlando Magic

Failed in rebuilding the team during five-year tenure

The NBA’s Orlando Magic fired general manager Rob Hennigan on Thursday. The firing comes after a fifth consecutive season without a playoff appearance. For the time being, the Magic have appointed assistant general manager Matt Lloyd to take over the position until a new candidate can be hired. The new general manager will have the benefit of a potential top-five lottery pick, with a 10 percent chance of snagging the first overall pick. Orlando head coach Frank Vogel, who led the team to a last-place finish in the division, is only in the first year of a long-term contract, so it is unlikely that he will be fired.

Hennigan was the NBA’s youngest general manager; he is currently 35 years old. Replacements that have been floated are Grant Hill, Travis Schlenk and Pat Garrity. Schlenk is currently an assistant general manager for the Golden State Warriors, still one of the top teams in the league. Schlenk got his first NBA job with the Orlando Magic. Garrity is an executive for the Detroit Pistons, and used to play for the Magic. The most intriguing name is Hill by far. Hill was a star player for the Orlando Magic, and is still immensely popular among NBA fans. He is currently a minority owner for the Atlanta Hawks, and he hasn’t made any plans to relinquish that role as of yet.

Hennigan had a rocky tenure with the Magic and is viewed as not having taken full advantage of the assets he had. He had three top-five draft picks, and selected Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja. Gordon and Hezonja have their bright spots, but have not developed into stars as you would hope from such high draft picks. Oladipo didn’t quite develop into a superstar, so he was traded with two other players for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Serge Ibaka, who Hennigan then traded to the Toronto Raptors for sixth man Terrence Ross.